A little-known part of the work of the probation service is its contribution to helping offenders into employment.
The probation service’s predecessor, the Church of England Temperance Society, recognised in 1890 that the surest way of diverting people from crime was to provide them with jobs.
Education, training and employment (ETE) is still a key part of probation work.
Education opportunities include literacy, numeracy, IT
Offenders have the chance to improve their literacy, numeracy and IT skills. There is also an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course available for our offenders. Our partners in the education sector include F1 and Aquila computer services, Suffolk New College, Lowestoft College, West Suffolk College and Otley College.
Training and employment programmes are run in partnership with Nacro, Path 2 Work, A4E, Respect, JobCentre Plus and Train To Gain. Offenders have the chance to get a Construction Skills Certification Scheme card, which is necessary for work in the building industry.
